If you live south of Duluth, you may not know about the prospects for a late ice-out in parts of the Arrowhead region this year. Plans for early and mid-May should take this thread into consideration:

Ice-Out Estimates

It's not any warmer down here either... We are aware..

Gravelroad is correct. It has been a brutal spring in the northland, and it's looking like a late May ice out at best.

On the bright side Minetonka officially declared ice out today…..

I'll bet there is still lots of ice there.

Still a lot of time before May trips. But yes, anyone going in the first half of May any year is flirting with possible issues. (if booked in Jan)

Live on a lake north of Chisholm…….

Had my jeep out on the lake yesterday, neighbor drove his half ton Chevy. Caught a mess of Easter crappies with the kids though…….

6” of snow today…….

Better make sure the auger is sharp for opening weekend……

Guessing most early May permits will be useless……

Ya the weather in Iowa is brutal this April. It's been like May in Ely!

LongLaker: "Live on a lake north of Chisholm…….


Had my jeep out on the lake yesterday, neighbor drove his half ton Chevy. Caught a mess of Easter crappies with the kids though…….


6” of snow today…….


Better make sure the auger is sharp for opening weekend……


Guessing most early May permits will be useless……"

Curious, how thick was the ice?

When you pick up your permits in May you may notice a new header printed on them. Instead of "Overnight Paddle Permit" it will say "Overnight Snowshoe/Paddle Permit". I'm kidding of course.

Jaywalker: "

LongLaker: "Live on a lake north of Chisholm…….



Had my jeep out on the lake yesterday, neighbor drove his half ton Chevy. Caught a mess of Easter crappies with the kids though…….



6” of snow today…….



Better make sure the auger is sharp for opening weekend……



Guessing most early May permits will be useless……"

Curious, how thick was the ice?"

Last weekend, our lake, half an hour north of Two Harbors still had about 2 feet of ice and a foot of hard pack snow.

I just put my MicroSpikes in the car for tomorrow's dog walk north of Duluth, after having to turn back this morning because the trail resembled a luge run.

Folks with early to mid-May plans should really pay attention to what's going on this week on the east side of the BWCA. Here is the interpolated forecast for Seagull Lake:

The big picture:

Aerial reconnaissance by Rhonda Schrader

gravelroad: "The big picture:


Aerial reconnaissance by Rhonda Schrader"

That link didn't work for me.

deepwater: "

gravelroad: "The big picture:



Aerial reconnaissance by Rhonda Schrader"

That link didn't work for me. "

Negative here, too. I also tried inserting the link name into Google, but got nothing.

Mike

MikeinMpls: "

deepwater: "

gravelroad: "The big picture:



Aerial reconnaissance by Rhonda Schrader"

That link didn't work for me. "

Negative here, too. I also tried inserting the link name into Google, but got nothing.


Mike"

Maybe copy and paste this?

https://m.facebook.com/groups/bwcagroup/permalink/10160109412743011/?_rdr

Link broken. Funny...link contains the text "/permalink".

So...considering some lakes still have ice on them...how likely is ice-out to occur in the next 3 weeks? We're supposed to enter BH on June2.

Thx

BassmasterP: "Link broken. Funny...link contains the text "/permalink".


So...considering some lakes still have ice on them...how likely is ice-out to occur in the next 3 weeks? We're supposed to enter BH on June2.


Thx"

If this works, you'll see why you didn't want a permit for the first half of May:

https://m.facebook.com/727622330/videos/525296459189124/

gravelroad: "

BassmasterP: "Link broken. Funny...link contains the text "/permalink".



So...considering some lakes still have ice on them...how likely is ice-out to occur in the next 3 weeks? We're supposed to enter BH on June2.



Thx"

If this works, you'll see why you didn't want a permit for the first half of May:


https://m.facebook.com/727622330/videos/525296459189124/"

Still nothing... but I do think the ice will be out by Tuesday May 10th.

The group that this is posted to is a "private group" -- anyone can join, but the settings are such that only "members" can view the content.

It's a video so I can't share it, but here is the text: "Did a flyover of the entire bwca area and everything is still very frozen. Flew entire echo trail. Rivers are thawed and flooded but lake ice is still very solid and there was even snowmobilers on area lakes. Significant snow still in shaded areas. High temps expected but still heavy ice in areas. Edges are starting to get open but not much and only in sun. It’s a crapshoot if it will clear by fishing opener. Good luck for anyone with early permits."

Here on Twin Lakes, off the Echo Trail north of Burntside, the remaining clear solid ice was 10" yesterday afternoon, and 8" at the same time today. Given the conditions and forecast, I expect the ice out to accelerate, so I'm predicting an ice out on our lake this weekend or Monday. On average Burntside goes out 5 days after us, but I think it will be closer this year, probably going out by next Thursday or Friday (maybe sooner). You can extrapolate from that to similar lakes off the Echo in the BW, with smaller lakes like ours going out in the next few days and bigger deeper ones like Burntside a few days later - if I'm right, that is.

I am so happy that I pulled a hiking permit for my trip next week instead of a paddle permit.

thegildedgopher: "The group that this is posted to is a "private group" -- anyone can join, but the settings are such that only "members" can view the content.


It's a video so I can't share it, but here is the text: "Did a flyover of the entire bwca area and everything is still very frozen. Flew entire echo trail. Rivers are thawed and flooded but lake ice is still very solid and there was even snowmobilers on area lakes. Significant snow still in shaded areas. High temps expected but still heavy ice in areas. Edges are starting to get open but not much and only in sun. It’s a crapshoot if it will clear by fishing opener. Good luck for anyone with early permits.""

Thanks! I didn't remember that the BWCA.COM GROUP is private. ;-)

Here's an illustrative screenshot from the video in question:

But when was the video taken? An exact date is needed. Things are changing so fast every day up here on the Echo. Something from a couple days ago is already totally outdated.

Ho Ho: "But when was the video taken? An exact date is needed. Things are changing so fast every day up here on the Echo. Something from a couple days ago is already totally outdated."

Agreed. If this was taken on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th I am sure it's a much different story.

Regarding going in on June 2. I think you will be fine. Perfect timing in my humble opinion.

BassmasterP: "Link broken. Funny...link contains the text "/permalink".


So...considering some lakes still have ice on them...how likely is ice-out to occur in the next 3 weeks? We're supposed to enter BH on June2.
Thx"

You’ll be more than fine. We put in a week before you on Pickerel, and I’m not worried about our trip in the slightest either. The rain and warm weather are rapidly melting ice up there. I would be surprised if more than a handful of lakes still have significant ice a week from now.